As the 1940s rolled in, women everywhere began to embrace a new fashion statement – embellishing their hair with beautiful and colorful accessories. From pretty hair flowers to the useful & stylish snood, 1940s hair accessories spiced up women’s hairstyles and brightened up their looks. For those looking to add a retro twist to their style, learning about the various hair accessories of the 40s is a must.
In this article, you will discover the most popular 1940s hair accessories, how women wore them, and how you yourself can incorporate them into your look today (including where to purchase).
Put on your best vintage outfit and join us on a fascinating journey through the history of 1940s hair accessories.
Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, Unique Vintage, RocknRomance Vintage & Collectif are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Note: If an item you click on is no longer available, don’t fret! All the websites featured on my post are updated with new products daily. Do some searching and see what you can find. Happy shopping!
A Vintage Guide to 1940s Hair Accessories
1940s Turban / Draped Turban
Hand draped, tucked turban from a 1940s Montgomery Ward Catalog-Personal collection
I cannot tell if our lady in this 1940 photo booth image is wearing a turban with a ruffled top or if it’s just a headband? Whatever it is, both looks are a great way to take curls or even straight hair that is a bit unruely, not washed etc. and give you a super fashionable look. She looks great!
FURTHER READING: Vintage Photo Tuesday: The Photo Booth
Source: Etsy
How a British Woman Dresses in Wartime- Utility Clothing in Britain, 1943
A model sits on a flight of steps to show off her scarlet wool Utility frock by Dorville at John Lewis and Co. Ltd., with front-gathered skirt and shirt-waist top (cost: 11 coupons and 60/-). She is also wearing a scarlet silk jersey turban and black suede gloves and shoes. Her ensemble is complete with the addition of a black wool Utility topcoat by Harella, costing 18 coupons and 90/9d. This dress is also featured in D 14782 but worn with different accessories to illustrate the versatility of the garment (Source).
Carmen Miranda helped raise the profile of the draped turban as glamour wear.
Source: Pinterest
Search terms to use when looking for vintage style hair turbans on websites like ETSY:
- 1940s Hair Turban
- 1940s Turban
- 1940s Draped Turban
- 1940s Hair Accessories
- 1940s Turban Pattern (Sewing & knitting patterns)
- 1940s Hairscarf (to be discussed further down)
Examples of online stores selling this 1940s turban look:
- AliceBrownsCupboard on Etsy – Handmaid turbans (I might need to scoop myself up one of these beauties).
- FeralVintage – Vintage style 1940s turbans. These are works of art!
Maybe you can sew…
Here is an example of a ruffled turban sewing pattern (PDF) like the one our lovely lady is wearing in the first picture. Avail HERE.
Source: Etsy
Are you a knitter and can’t decide what style of turban suits you best?
This pattern has three of the most popular versions in one pattern PDF.
Contains:
– The Roll Turban
– The Scarf Turban (great for holding in your pin curls)
– The Turban with Crown – a great hat substitute (Avail HERE).
Source: Etsy
Fashion Tutorial: How to Tie a Turban & Accessorize! (1942)
Further Reading by Flashback Summer: Who can wear headwraps?
Excerpt: Two things I think we can all agree on to start (or the vast, vast majority of us at the very least can agree on), is that 1.) The question is not whether or not each of us can or cannot wear head wraps, but which head wraps we can rightly wear, and 2.) Religious head wear (such as specifically Muslim or Sikh styles) should only be worn by the people adhering to those religions or ideals.
Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s get into the not-so-clear part of head wrapping: Who can wear which wraps? (READ ARTICLE HERE)
Hair Flowers
I’m obsessed with this hair accessory and I have quite a collection (& still growing) since I started getting into the vintage lifestyle many moons ago. They are truly an easy way to make your hair have that 1940s look. I even dedicated a full post in 2013 to them called, “Hair Flowers-A girls best friend for an easy 1940’s vintage look“.
Please make sure you visit the blog post linked above for images of how to wear hair flowers, vintage photos of people wearing hair flowers and other tips.
In the meantime here are some new imagery and where to purchase hair flowers (updated).
Pretty white hair flower worn in the back of 1940s hairstyle is a great look.
Source: Etsy
I 1000% support matching your hair flowers to your blouse / dress/ swimsuit whatever! What a stunning photo of this woman with a flower on each side of her hair that perfectly matches her blouse.
Source: Etsy
“Lovingly, Gloria”. Well Gloria we are loving your perfect hair flower placement in your photo. Very glamorous.
Source: Etsy
Two bathing beauties on the beach with victory rolls and super hair flower placement.
Search terms to use when looking for vintage style hair flowers on the web (or Etsy)
- Hair Flowers
- Hair Flowers Pinup
- Rockabilly Hair Flower
- Tiki Hair Flower (if you want to be a bit more tropical)
- 1940s Hair Flower
Examples of online stores selling 1940s hair flowers clips:
- LaCasaDeFlores (USA)
- LilaJo (USA)
- ShazamHairFlowers (UK)
- Fancy Fruits
- Collectif (UK store)
- Lady Luck’s Boutique (UK)
TIP! Are you a bit crafty?
Head to your local craft store and make them yourself. It’s super easy (and this is coming from a person who can’t craft without glueing my fingers together). Here is a helpful tutorial (link HERE).
Here is my crafty version (flowers from Michaels) for a Tiki look.
Hair Snoods
According to ‘Vintage Dancer‘ Hair Snoods… were a popular hair accessory in the 1940s for both daytime and work. They were a rayon or cotton crocheted net fitted with a headband. A headscarf could also be tied like a snood. The band, which was pinned in place, was worn around the top of the head and all of the hair would be encased in the snood. It was popular in the factories due to the fact that the women had to wear their hair back. This was a great way to do this.
Source: Good Housekeeping
Here is a photo of Ginger Roger in the 1940s wearing a snood and pants heading off to help the war effort (or at least posing like she was).
Source: Pinterest
1940 Fashion Frocks sample card showcasing early 1940s women’s fashions including how to wear a snood with your hat.
Source: Pinterest
The below cover is from a Montgomery Ward Catalogue 1942 1943 and it’s from my personal collection (click the link or the image to see inside). Great example of how popular snoods were that it made it ONTO the cover.
Search terms to use when looking for hair snoods on the web (or Etsy):
- Hair Snood
- Vintage Hair Snood
- Hair Snood for Women
- Hair Snood Pattern
- 1940s Hair Snood
- Vintage Snood
- Vintage Hair net / Vintage 1940s Hair net
Examples of online stores selling 1940s style snoods.
- RavenMaddBoutique (UK)
- CliptacularCreations (US)
- CuffburnCustoms (Canada)
- VintageRomanceShop (Canada)
- GinPoodle (UK)
- VintageBoutiqueChic (UK)
- CarolsFrenchVintage (France)
For the Knitters & Crochetiers
The web is once again filled with patterns you can buy and videos you can watch. Here are a couple pattern samples I found on Etsy.
Pattern/instructions to make a 1940s/WW2 Snoods. 1 x knitted snood and 3 x crocheted snoods. The perfect finishing touches to that vintage/WWII style outfit (avail as a PDF HERE).
Source: Etsy
1940s Vintage Snoods Crochet Patterns: Two snood crochet patterns done in easy single crochet and chain stitch, one with beads and one with bows (avail as a PDF HERE).
Source: Etsy
How to wear a snood? Many ways! Here a couple of good tutorials that show you how, but feel free to do your own research.
How to Wear and Style a Vintage Snood – Easy Pinup Hair with Miss MonMon (Video Link)
Ribbons
I love ribbons. Why? They are an inexpensive way to get a pretty 1940s look in a very short amount of time. I wear them all the time, in my typical 40s hairstyle I wear on the regular (seen below).
The tip with a ribbon is to wear it anywhere on the head that makes the most sense for your hairstyle. Trust me when I say…”You will know”. Below are some examples of where your ribbon placement could be.
Now I understand this is a junior look in this image but as you can see in my photo above, you can 100% wear it as a 40 something old woman and still look classy. It’s all in the clothes you are pairing with it.
Source: Etsy
Candy Apples, Hair Bows and Bumper Bangs. Simple style for anyone to try.
Looking for 1940s hairstyle inspiration? Vintage sewing patterns are super resources! They were always showing off some of the popular styles of the day. Here is a super example from a sewing pattern for 1940s playsuit and pinafore dress. Look at the two cute ways the fashion illustrations are wearing their hair ribbons? Love it!
Source: Etsy
1940s school photo featuring not one but two ribbons in our cute teenage girls hair.
Source: Etsy
Where to buy Ribbons?
Well that one is easy…any craft store, dollar store, Walmart, Micheals etc.
Headscarves & Bandanas
Kerchief style of the head scarf (where it is tied under the chin) was a popular look to keep the elements off your set. Headscarfs were also being warn like snoods where it went under the back of the hair (see second photo). Want a Rosie the Riveter look (like our lady on the right in the first image below)? This was another option.
Source: Pinterest
A woman working on a dive bomber in Tennessee, 1943.
This next photo is another great example of how scarfs were worn by women enjoying the winter weather but who also did not want to ruin those curls they spent hours sleeping on.
Pictured… the under chin option and the “Rosie” version.
Source: Etsy
One more! LOVE the curls on our pretty young woman posing in a photo booth. This is a clear as day example of how you can make a hairscarf / regular scarf the perfect 1940s hair accessory. Everything works so well together.
Source: Pinterest
Search terms to use when looking for hairscarves or bandanas on the web (or Etsy):
- 1940s Hair Scarf / 1940s Hairscarf
- Vintage Hairscarf
- Rosie the Riveter Bandana
- 1940s Headscarf
- Rockabilly Bandana / Rockabilly Headband
- Land Girl Headscarf
- Pinup Hairscarf
- Nylon Hairscarf / Pinup Nylon Scarf
- Nylon Scarf
- Chiffon Scarf / Chiffon Headscarf
Note: For scarves you can use whatever makes you happy. Can be modern or vintage, does not matter.
Examples of online stores selling bandanas and headscarves:
- AyeAyeboutique (UK)
- HandmadeRetroTopShop (US)
- retroluxeshop (US) – Nylon Hair Scarfs
- serpentsdelight (US)
How cute is this crochet Rosie the Riveter bandana by CuffburnCustoms (Canada)? (avail HERE).
Source: Etsy
Sewing…
Once again, if you are handy in the sewing world here is a digital pattern for a collection of 1940s hair accessories (avail HERE).
Source: Etsy
How to wear a 1940s head scarf like Rosie the Riveter?
Take a look at Flashback Summer helpful post “1940s Scarf Tutorial“.
One more! Here is the very first video I ever watched where I learned how to do a simple head scarf look. Trust me, once you see this you will be shocked that you never did this sooner (video link).
Further Reading: Check out this great post written by the Women’s Museum of California – “Why did Rosie wear a bandana?”
Here is a breakdown of other 1940s hair accessories not featured in this post:
- Women’s Hats
- Grips / Bobby Pins & Combs / Slides
- Artificial Braids
For further reading on other vintage hair accessories from this time period (I could not possibly get to them all), make sure you check out the FANTASTIC website “Vintage Hairstyling” and her post entitled “Elegant Vintage Hair Accessories from the 1940s“.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found this post helpful and inspiring and if you wish to share your looks with me on social media or via email, please do! Here is how you can find ‘The Vintage Inn’ aka Liz:
FURTHER READING:
- 1940s & 1950s Vintage Hairstyles – Blog Post of Ideas
- Vintage Hairstyle Archive of Blog Posts from the Vintage Inn
Liz
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